Microsoft's video service boosts peer-to-peer with cloud processing

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Skype hit the big 1-0 recently, and Microsoft seems more determined than ever to stuff its communicative innards with new features.

Revealed in a company blog post by Microsoft's Skype President Mark Gillet, one that's due to land "over the next few months" is the ability to synchronise chat messages across all of your devices in a similar manner to Facebook Messages, Whatsapp and Samsung's Chat On service.

This should put a stop to the frustrating experience of sending a message only to find out minutes later that it hasn't been delivered. You'll also be notified of any missed voice or video calls through push notifications, Gillet writes, meaning you'll know when you've been contacted no matter which device you're using (assuming they're using the same Skype ID).

Another impending feature is the ability to answer calls directly from Windows 8.1's lock screen, which you'll be able to do after the free software update formerly known as Windows Blue arrives at midnight on October 17.

Cloud calling

Gillet writes that such improvements were made possible by putting more emphasis on its own "cloud" servers to power the service in addition to peer-to-peer (P2P) functionality, which relies on the comparatively poorer processing power of users' devices.

According to Gillet, this marks the "biggest architectural change" in the past decade for Skype and allows it to run on smartphones and tablets while using less battery life.

It also helps the Windows 8 Skype app evaluate bandwidth, connectivity and firewall settings to pick the most appropriate path for routing through its P2P system, he writes.